Enrollment
290
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 063429013998
Arroyo — San Carlos, CA
Federal NCES profile for Arroyo, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 34/100.
👥 Class size 15
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 91
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: San Carlos Elementary · California
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
13.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
21.3:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
7.9%
vs 55.5% California avg
-86% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Arroyo compares with California and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Arroyo reports 290 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 13.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 21.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 1% below the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 34% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 7.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 86% below the California average and 85% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 580 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 3.8% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding San Carlos Elementary spends $19,114 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 86.6% from local sources (property taxes), 12.0% from the state, and 1.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (F), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Arroyo compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against California state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 21.3:1 | ▼ 1% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 7.9% | ▼ 86% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 290 | top 25% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
7.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 86% below the California average of 55.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
21.3:1
students per teacher
— 1% below state mean
Top 42% in California — lower ratio than 58% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
3.8%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$19,114
per pupil, district-wide
— above California avg of $18,039
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.5 FTE
Per 580 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 290 Top 25% in California — larger than 75% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 13.0
Students per teacher 21.3:1 -1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 7.9% -86% vs state
NCES ID 063429013998
Student demographics
White 53.4%
Asian 17.6%
Two or More 16.9%
Hispanic or Latino 10.7%
African American 1.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: White at 53.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.5
Students per counselor 580:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 3.8%
In-school suspensions 2
Out-of-school suspensions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for San Carlos Elementary, which includes Arroyo.
$19,114
Per student
+6%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-2%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 86.6%
State 12.0%
Federal 1.4%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 451
- Students per teacher
- 20.8:1
- Enrollment
- 443
- Students per teacher
- 21.4:1
- Enrollment
- 411
- Students per teacher
- 19.8:1
- Enrollment
- 388
- Students per teacher
- 20.4:1
- Enrollment
- 322
- Students per teacher
- 18.5:1
Similar elementary schools in San Carlos
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Brittan Acres Elementary
Standard public school
411 students 19.8:1 students per teacher
Arundel Elementary
Standard public school
388 students 20.4:1 students per teacher
San Carlos Charter Learning Center
Standard public school
377 students 19.8:1 students per teacher
Mariposa
Standard public school
322 students 18.5:1 students per teacher
Heather Elementary
Standard public school
320 students 17.5:1 students per teacher
White Oaks Elementary
Standard public school
250 students 23.2:1 students per teacher
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Arroyo
How many students attend Arroyo?
Arroyo has 290 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in San Carlos, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Arroyo?
The student-teacher ratio at Arroyo is 21.3:1, which is 1% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 34% higher than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Arroyo?
7.9% of students at Arroyo are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Arroyo?
The largest demographic group at Arroyo is White at 53.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in San Carlos, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Arroyo?
Arroyo has a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (F) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.